Full Spectrum Lighting

Hi everyone,

I've been hearing a lot about full spectrum lighting for birds recently, and since we live in Canada, I've been thinking about getting a lamp. Anyone have any advice/suggestions? Would just a FS desk lamp on top of the cage work? Are Ottlites all FS? Thanks in advance!

Judy

It does not work! To really get the spectrum they need, it would consume a lot of electric to do so and very expensive to buy and run. It's got a very blinding light and cases heat issues. This is a topic that's been discussed countless times that you can find in the search option within the forum.

That's interesting! I did try to search for "full spectrum" but didn't get anything???

Please read this: http://www.parrotforums.com/general-health-care/35383-lighting-information-birds.html

jhk515 said:

That's interesting! I did try to search for "full spectrum" but didn't get anything???

Click to expand...

Are you sure you did a search on this subject? Because I just did one, and here are just a "few" that came up

http://www.parrotforums.com/cages/41073-help-full-spectrum-lighting.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/questions-answers/37767-does-anyone-here-use-full-spectrum-lighting.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/37273-full-spectrum-lighting.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/35008-full-spectrum-lighting.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/general-health-care/29150-uvb-lighting.html

...and the list goes on.

Hi - thanks, all. I did, but I guess I didn't notice that the threads listed had changed from before - still learning to navigate this site properly. Thanks!

I use Zoo-Med's Avian Sun and have for years. It works great, but it doesn't provide 100% of what is necessary from the sun. Birds still need natural sunlight, but it's better than nothing when the weather isn't suitable for taking them out.

Note: Avoid any bulbs that have a spiral shape. They give off uneven amounts of light and UVB and have been known to burn the eyes of birds and reptiles.

MikeyTN said:

It does not work! To really get the spectrum they need, it would consume a lot of electric to do so and very expensive to buy and run. It's got a very blinding light and cases heat issues. This is a topic that's been discussed countless times that you can find in the search option within the forum.

Click to expand...

Most newer UVB bulbs produce no heat. Only the MVB bulbs produce both heat and UVB, which are pretty popular with parrot keepers but do cause overheating.

NiRD said:

MikeyTN said:

It does not work! To really get the spectrum they need, it would consume a lot of electric to do so and very expensive to buy and run. It's got a very blinding light and cases heat issues. This is a topic that's been discussed countless times that you can find in the search option within the forum.

Click to expand...

Most newer UVB bulbs produce no heat. Only the MVB bulbs produce both heat and UVB, which are pretty popular with parrot keepers but do cause overheating.

Click to expand...

The higher wattage bulbs that requires ballast to run does create heat. Those bulbs that you use aren't adequate to give off much spectrum period. In the reef club that I used to belong to, we bought an tester as a group and we all get to share to use it within the club, we have tested different lights with it and those light bulbs you use doesn't do a thing. We use them to test MH, T5(and all like it), VHO, Compaq Fluorescent, LED, etc. There was a top light tester I think his name was Yoshi? have posted a lot about lighting, the spectrum, etc etc on his site. We have to have good lighting in order to grow corals within our aquarium and I've tried many different types of lighting available out there within the 7 years I did reef. I save on electric a bit due to me using electronic ballast but my house was always hot so in the winter time it keeps the house pretty toasty.

I have access to a UVB tester. Avian bulbs read at 5% UVB, about the average on a partly cloudy day during non summer months. Unless using a MVB bulb, the amount of UVB does however greatly deplete after six months.